


Our Lady of Jubilation

by CircusBones



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies), X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/F, F/M, Female Friendship, Like Firefly only not, Love/Hate, Male-Female Friendship, Romance, Space Pirates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-04
Updated: 2013-07-10
Packaged: 2017-12-13 23:26:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/830071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CircusBones/pseuds/CircusBones
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a vast, strange universe where spaceships are living creatures, law enforcement is privatized, and you're lucky if you live on a planet that doesn't have giant carnivorous flora, Stark Industries is the place to work. Dabbling in everything from security to science to sustainable fuels, one of the most powerful corporations in the universe is actually run by a decent human being. Which is good, as dangerous work is usually the only kind of work mutants can get.</p>
<p>  James Logan is the somewhat grizzled mutant captain of The Jubilation Lee, a female Leviathan in Stark's fleet, 'piloted' by Logan's own daughter, Laura (the girl and the alien have been bonded since infancy). His crew is charged with the somewhat routine task of protecting a Stark-employed archeologist, Dr. Jane Foster, as she works on a remote planet. When Jane, Laura, and most of Jane's work are stolen, however, Stark charges Logan with getting them back, and the captain doesn't need to be told twice. What he doesn't count on is Jane's assistant Darcy Lewis demanding to come along for the hunt, as well as the archeologist's tall, unsettling alien boyfriend...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I am well aware that I have some WIPs that need some serious love, never fear! This one simply would not leave me alone, though.
> 
> I'm not really trying to reinvent anything here, and have shamelessly borrowed plenty from Farscape and Firefly, that is intentional but not really enough that I felt right tagging those fandoms as well. Mostly this is for my amusement, and that of my husband. Cowboy pirates in space make me happy, the end.
> 
> And yes, I did make Jubes the ship. We had a complicated childhood.

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He'd never been a fan of humid planetoids. Who was, really? Never mind the way you got drenched in your own stinking sweat five minutes after leaving your ship, humidity also had a way of encouraging the more carnivorous plants to grow to roughly the size of apartment buildings. Apartment buildings that could eat you. Plus there were the locals, who tended toward farmers and swampers and who generally all eyed space-fairing folk with no small amount of suspicion and even annoyance. Double that for mutants and anyone tanner than himself, on this particular rock. 

So no, James Logan did not, as a rule, go to the humid, backwater moons of Caliphid unless he absolutely could not pass up a job on one. This job was one of the best he'd had in years, his employers giving him and his crew a hefty bonus just to keep the fauna and rednecks from eating and/or lynching one of their field nerds. Said nerd was now safely inside the ship for the evening, and Logan allowed himself to slip outside and into the cooling air. 

Gratefully drawing a cigar from his pocket and lighting it, the man blew out a long puff, sighing happily as he watched the watery sun and Caliphid itself both slip toward the horizon. A great groaning, almost scolding sound thrummed from the massive, blue-ish brown creature lying behind him, and Logan rolled his eyes, taking a few more steps forward into the grass. “I'm not smokin' -in- you, Jubes, y'should be happy,” He told his ship, who just snorted, giant clouds of dark brown earth rising as she did. Logan smirked. 

“Second hand smoke,” His first mate piped up, causing him to tilt his head as she climbed down from the sally, dropping to the short grass of the clearing they'd parked on. “Can shorten all our lives,” Ororo reminded him with a smirk, adjusting her clothes as she stood, straightening her long white dreadlocks, “Nat's got the girls looked after, you owe me a drink, boss.”

“You sure you wanna venture into town again, O?” Logan smirked, pausing thoughtfully for a time, before putting out his cigar on his hand. The burn slowly healed over as he spoke. “Think they've still got a few eyes out for you, after that last bar fight. Y'kinda stick out here, too.”

“Eh, none of the local muscle will dare mess with Stark folk, not even the racist pricks,” Ororo still checked to see that her gun was loaded, Logan noticed. She adjusted her holsters and buckles twice more, before tilting her head his way, patting the hull fondly. “Sides, the man I married has a way of buttering 'em right back up like I've never seen, and he's already at it as we speak,” 

“S'why I like keepin' him around, even if he does make me look even meaner,” Logan chuckled, making for the beaten path through the grass, that led over the clearing and through the immensely tall, swaying palms. Ororo followed only a step behind, drawing her machete from her back out of habit. Logan was pretty sure they'd already killed any and all plants that enjoyed the taste of people that had been growing along the road, but one couldn't be too careful. Things grew far too fast on planets like this.

Humid planets, seriously, fuck 'em all.

 

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“When the Leviathans came to our homeworld, humans were a barbaric people, yes. The fact, however, that we've still not yet managed to replicate with science their innate ability to warp through space, tells us that perhaps we're supposed to leave such a power to our giant alien friends. They allowed us into their spacious skeletons because they longed for companionship. Perhaps they even sensed the destruction of Earth, and bore most of us away before it burned up under the sun._

_(...)They will buck off a cruel rider, and bond with a kind one for life. One would think, therefore, that they'd have been the catalyst to some ideal, some peaceful future for us in space, as so many of our old stories depict. We, of course, found a way to keep our barbarism even as we became symbiotic with the peaceful Leviathan. Because that seems to be our pattern, as a species.”_

\- From Dr. Pamela Isley's Introduction to _Rockets to Giants: A History of Human/Leviathan Interaction_ , by Dr. Jane Foster.

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Darcy Lewis loved The Jubilation Lee. 

When she'd been a little girl, her mother had been a medic on a Leviathan. As she recalled, he'd been an old, somewhat quiet creature, yet very kind, the air in their quarters always warm and the burnished bone walls very often thrumming happily. But that had been years ago, and after her mother had settled on Gionorma Five so that her daughter could go to school, Darcy'd seldom had cause to travel in space. 

Not until she'd finally scraped together the money for university, and then jumped for the internship with Dr. Foster. No, archeology wasn't exactly her field (she'd been studying history, yes, more in the general sense), but Darcy had crammed on the subject for days before her interview. Because when a dirt-poor girl like Darcy saw the chance to get a foot in the door with Stark Industries, she fucking took it. And here they were, now, doing real work with real Stark people, lack of a paycheck be damned. She'd get one someday, and the food was free.

Granted, this planet was truly awful. Darcy had thought she could get along very well with poor and removed folks, hell those words described her own kin pretty accurately. But this damn place was full of redneck assholery of the worst kind, not to mention that the air outside felt like walking around inside a giant mouth, one with bad dental hygiene at that. The days out at the dig site were long, tedious, and mostly involved her trying to turn Jane's mumbles and scattered observations into coherent notes, along with taking a lot of pictures of the old ruins. Thor, the odd alien lug her boss had picked up...somewhere, he kept them both hydrated, but even his eternally optimistic attitude couldn't improve Caliphid Four.

But then there were the evenings and nights, and those made up for just about everything else, because Darcy got to spend them inside the ship. Jane became more human and lively in Jubilee's cool rooms, actually eating, talking to Darcy, and being cute with Thor. Darcy was extremely efficient too in the evenings. Because the faster she got the notes cataloged, the pictures blown up so that Jane could stare at and ponder the ruins, the faster she could idle off some time wandering through their temporary home before bed. She could sit in the cool lounge, or in the kitchen, indulge in a book or chat up one of the crew members, most of whom enjoyed her endless questions about space and work and Leviathans. 

Except for their captain, mind, who seemed to avoid her and Jane and Thor like the plague, but ah well. His teenage daughter was nice enough for the both of them.

Speaking of Laura, she was quickly becoming Darcy's favorite member of the crew, and it had everything to do with the fact that the young mutant was the key to Darcy's absolute favorite spot on the ship. 

Up the winding, polished stairs near Jubilee's head (her bones were a shining, shifting indigo color, unlike the bronze walls of Darcy's childhood), there was a small room filled with a softly glowing, blue-hued light. Most of it came from the screens on the walls that showed the world outside of the tough, scaly hull. The rest came from the thousands of tendrils of nerves that wound down the walls on their way to Jubilation's brain, protected by clear tubes of cartilage, gathering in the middle of the floor in a cluster, before continuing on their way. It was the Leviathan's most vulnerable spot, the cockpit, and she only opened her doors when Laura was also present.

“How's she doin'?” Darcy asked by way of greeting this particular night, rubbing her arms through her thin linen blouse. She'd forgotten to grab a sweater, again. It was just so easy to forget how nice and cool the ship kept them, when it was so disgustingly thick outside. 

“All right,” The teenager replied from her spot on the floor, sitting cross-legged in front of the point where all of those nerves clustered together. Both of Laura's slender, pale hands rested lightly on the protected spot, her eyes on the screens. “She's a little worried about Dad and Ororo going back into town, after what happened last time.” The girl smirked, “But she's fine.”

“Can't really blame 'em for wanting a drink, but I seriously doubt the local hooch is worth dealing with those townfolk again,” Darcy herself took a seat with her back against the wall, also watching the sky outside turn a progressively deeper purple with the coming night. 

“They'll behave with uncle Steve along with 'em,” Laura's smile widened, as lights pulsed under her hands. “Jubie likes you.”

“Course she does, everyone on this thing likes me!” Darcy scoffed, though it did make her pat the walls affectionately, stretching her feet out in front of her in their ratty knee-high boots and even rattier cargo pants, “Well, everyone but your pops. I don't think he's said two words strung together at me for the whole two weeks we've been on board.”

“That's how he is with most passengers,” Laura shrugged, casually letting a claw on her right hand pop out, picking her teeth. Right, it'd been some tough, gamey meat with dinner that night. The claws still mildly freaked Darcy out, though. “Be glad he doesn't have any reason to talk to you. How's the research coming?”

“Um, good, far as I can tell?” Darcy narrowed her eyes in thought, still petting the wall. “Jane's being really cryptic about the significance of the site, still. Like, I take down the notes, take the pictures, but she hasn't even told me -who- these people were, why they built a temple here, nuthin'.” It hadn't bugged her at first, thinking maybe Jane was just waiting until her new assistant proved her mental competence. Well, Darcy had more than proven herself by now, and felt no more in the loop. “I'm getting the impression that even Thor knows more than I do.”

“So does Mr. Stark, I can guarantee it,” Laura divulged, shrugging, “But folk like me and dad and O are used to not asking questions, working for Stark. You'll get used to it too, it's all secrets, and we're paid to protect 'em.”

“But I'm gonna be one of the brains!” The younger girl fixed her with a look, and Darcy winced, “I just mean, being on the research end and all...but then, guess I'm still at the kid's table in my career.”

“S'not so bad here,” Laura smiled again, looking to the screens as the stars stepped out. “Nobody's after a kid for anything. Someone's -always- after the folks at the big table, though.”

“Guess that's a good point....”

Below them, the spaceship rumbled her agreement.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be more about the supporting cast next chapter! For now, a more thorough introduction to our heroes this 'verse. Thank you for such a lovely/optimistic response!

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“Three more days, tops,” Tony said, out of the blue, as Logan tossed him a mason jar full of pungent clear liquid. Darkness had fallen a bit too early and a bit too ominous in town, and so they'd taken their booze to go. Catching the jar gingerly before setting it down to wipe off his greasy hands, the owner of Stark Industries rose from his spot under his work table, covered in his usual layer of grime, grinning madly Logan's way. The captain just arched a brow.

“...Until?” He prompted his employer, glancing around his profoundly cluttered quarters. Weapon components littered the table, along with gears, tools, a few smashed clockwork gadgets all over Tony's one ratty sofa. Knowing Tony as Logan did, three days could mean any manner of things. Three days until Logan's next bonus. Three days until Tony Stark relapsed. Three days until he finally removed his stinking jumpsuit and goggles and took a goddamned bath...

“Until we pluck up and head back to Gionorma, big guy,” Tony unscrewed the jar, taking a swig and pulling a disgusted face, “Shit, damnit, bracing,” He wheezed, “...I'll miss this hillbilly crap. But yeah, Foster's saying she and her team have more than enough to study back in the nice shiny labs...not really puzzling out the breakthrough we'd hoped for at the site itself. Not this time, anyway.”

Logan did wonder what, exactly, kind of breakthrough there was to make in a bunch of ancient ruins. They weren't exactly going anywhere, hadn't gone anywhere in a few hundred years, and god knew Dr. Foster's assistant had taken enough pictures of the place, while the doctor herself had touched every inch of every stone. But he kept this to himself. He wasn't the expert, after all, he was just the muscle. As such, he addressed the point more prudent to his role, “'This time'?” He echoed. Tony nodded.

“Yeah, we're definitely sending her back, but not for a couple months. Rainy season's about to start,” Tony smacked his lips, taking another drink, “Much worse hell to work in, 'cause the whole site floods.” 

“And here I was thinkin' this moon couldn't get any worse,” Logan actually chuckled, scrubbing a hand over his scruff. “Right. Suppose you'll want us babysittin' your nerds again when they come back?”

“You're the best I've got, big guy,” Tony told him, honestly, “You and your people. Best, most loyal security and guns I've got on my payroll, and you never have any questions.”

“Oh, I've -got- questions aplenty,” Logan replied, leaning in the doorway with a smirk. Like, why, if they were the best he had, were the whole lot of 'em being paid so much to keep an eye on two scientists and a mountain of an alien humanoid as they poked around a ruin. But as always, that remained inward. “I think you're meanin' we don't -ask- questions, boss.”

“Important distinction. Why aren't we pals, Logan?”

“I'm your employee, bub. S'a distance of about a few billion credits.” Logan dipped his hat, moving to go, “I'll tell the girl and the ship to ready themselves...can I ask one, small thing, though?”

“You can. I may not answer.” Tony beamed, tossing his now-empty mason jar of hooch over his shoulder. Passing smoothly through the room at just that moment, his man-servant, Jarvis, caught it with hardly an altered expression. Logan gave the well-dressed, long-suffering AI a nod of hello, before looking back at Tony.

“...Where did Odinson come from? I thought we knew all the local humanoid races, but he's...” Huge, stronger than almost any mutant James Logan knew of, able to -fly- short distances...scaly...

“I know,” Tony shrugged, “Honestly, I've got no idea. Foster aint even told me yet.”

“Right...thought I'd ask.”

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He moved through his ship with an easy familiarity, taking off his hat and tossing it on a sofa as he passed through the lounge and onward. Through Jubilation's corridors and winding rooms, the steady hum of her breathing told Logan that she was sleeping deeply around him. He smiled, faintly, allowing himself to be just a bit unguarded in his fondness for the ol' gal, as he didn't spot anyone else along his way to the cockpit. At least, not until he was nearly there.

“Oh, sorry!” Miss Lewis whispered, wincing, after bumping into him in the narrow doorway just outside of the glow of Jubilee's nerves. Logan frowned as she backed away from him, looking her over briefly. She was a shabby mess, that one, a far cry from how she'd looked when she'd first boarded his ship in crisp, obviously new traveling clothes. He'd pegged her for some stuck-up university kid then. He'd since learned better. And for some reason, knowing better had made things a little worse, deep down.

She'd at some point in the evening tugged a ragged and over-sized sweater over her shabby field clothes and messy hair. Logan knew the faded, grey-brown color. It was the un-dyed, scratchy wool that poor folk could get for free, down in the slummier boroughs on Gionorma. It was such a simple thing, noticed in a second, her thick hair in a loose knot, her sweater made from that ugly, familiar, comforting wool. And it had his frown deepening, even as something turned over in his chest.

“Y'shouldn't be keepin' my kid up so late,” He grumbled, turning and heading on his way inside. He knew the girl had huffed something in response, but he didn't catch it, letting her boots tap out a hurried retreat back down the stairs.

“That was rude,” Laura stated, sharply, if a touch sleepily. “Jubilee agrees.” Logan just sighed, shaking his head and sitting beside her on the floor of the cockpit.

“I don't get chummy with the passengers. You know that,” He handed her his flask. Laura took one sip without flinching, and handed it back.

“You're different to her,” His daughter maintained, “You may not be -friendly- with passengers, but you're never rude. Preacher Wagner says we should never be rude to guests in our home. You've been -rude- to Darcy though, and she's my friend.”

“She's a little too old to be your friend...” Logan grumbled, though she did have him at Kurt's chiding, and he winced. Having guests in the home was a sacred institution, after all. Laura rolled her eyes.

“M'sorry, whose father just let his fifteen year old drink lighter fluid?” She swiped the flask again, and Logan chuckled, shrugging.

“Fair. Sorry kiddo, don't know what to say. Just...somethin' rubs me wrong 'bout that girl.” He left it at that, resting a hand on one of the ship's nerves. 'Hey lady, sleep well', he thought idly. 

“Wrong, sure,” Laura bit back a smile, looking up to the night sky on her screens. Logan gave his daughter the eyebrow, but gladly let the matter drop, steering it sharply to the left.

“We're headin' back planet-side, three days time.” He told her quietly, and that had her looking back his way, almost imploringly, “Boss says it's all gonna be one big monsoon before long, this moon.”

“That's too bad...” Laura bit her lip. Logan reached over, mussing her hair.

“Y'only think so cause you aint been outside.” He sighed, wincing again, “...Don't worry, we'll be takin' 'em back in the springtime, you'll see yer friend again.” She smiled back at him, and he was sharply reminded of just how much she had him under her thumb, as it pleased him. Brat. “You gonna be sleepin' up here tonight?”

“I'd like to.”

“I'll get you a blanket, then,” Logan pushed himself up off the floor, making sure to take his flask with him as he went.

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_“Of the five star systems humanity has found itself scattered across, only three planetoids boast indigenous populations, all having been somewhat more advanced than our own when we came to know each other. For centuries, we've been studying the incredibly unlikely odds that led to our species all being so undeniably alike, and compatible._

_Less often studied, however, are the countless ruins and remains of previous, older races. There are sites scattered on nearly every known inhabitable world, and even some of the uninhabitable ones. Only a very small portion can be claimed as Human, Skadin, Kjin or Lumian. The rest wait, standing as they have, some, for thousands on thousands of years, and the lack of curiosity regarding these lost cultures is astonishing to me.”_

From Dr. Jane Foster's published writings in The Gionorma _Science Today_ section.

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Darcy pushed back her wide-brimmed hat, wincing at the yellow sky as she gave herself another dousing from her canteen. Shaking her limbs as she felt at least some of the salt and dirt and sweat wash away, she took another look around the massive temple courtyard. Honestly, she couldn't conceive of there being a corner of the place she and Jane hadn't gone over and photographed ten times already by now, but she was doing so again anyway. Because never let it be said that Darcy Lewis didn't do her job, repetitive though it may be.

Leaving Jane mumbling over a dusty corner in the watery heat, Darcy headed along the far wall of the fern-filled courtyard, camera in hand. She was aware that, above her on the narrow archways of the temple, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers were patrolling the site with rifles in hand. It still made the girl shake her head in disbelief, wiping her wet hands on her trousers for the umpteenth time that day. I mean sure, the locals were dicks, but they couldn't seem to care less about these ruins, or what the team was doing to them. Not for the first time, Darcy wondered why the hell this expedition needed so much security. 

The first time had been when she and Jane were initially waiting for The Jubilation Lee to pick them up at the Culver dock. Darcy recalled how excited she'd been, two weeks and a million years ago. She'd been wearing her first real, grownup traveling suit, white and crisp and tightly-laced and okay, second-hand, but nicer than any clothes she'd ever owned before. Beside her, Jane had been in tweed that was of a higher quality perhaps, but that had clearly seen far more traveling. 

Thor was incongruous nearby, big, smiling and shirtless and introducing himself with an accent to his speech that Darcy'd never heard. Never mind the silver, almost reptilian scales that scattered his elbows, shoulders and neck. With his height and blonde coloring she would have mistaken him for a Skadin, except that he had those scales instead of the usual horns. As far as Darcy knew, no known humanoids boasted scales. “So uh, where are you from again?” She had asked. 

The otherwise open, cheery alien had only responded with “Far away.” And her new boss had only smiled enigmatically.

Maybe Darcy would have asked more, but just then The Jubilation Lee had been gliding down through the smoggy clouds of Gionorma, her sinuous bulk navigating between skyscrapers as she wound down to rest on the dock. It was right about that moment when Darcy knew that she'd be in far over her head for her first expedition, even before she was faced with the disapproving glare of Captain James Logan and his heavily-armed crew.

Presently she huffed, blowing damp tendrils of brown hair out of her face at that thought. Honestly, Darcy wasn't sure how, exactly, that her presence was especially offensive to the man. She spent most of her time off to the side making notes and doing her job and generally just trying not to let on how perplexed she was by the whole trip. If there was anyone the Captain -should- be annoyed with, she'd have pegged Thor, what with the way he was always so very chipper, ate all of Logan's food, and more than once had forgotten that pants were a thing.

But no, for some reason it was Darcy who drew Logan's especial ire. Even now, as she stomped through the fronds around the outside of the temple courtyard, she felt his eyes burning into the back of her head. Glancing over her shoulder and spotting him perched on the greenish stones of the ziggurat above, Darcy met his squint with one of her own. “I can toss my camera up, if you'd like.”

Logan blinked, as if coming out of some far-off thought, frowning and pushing up the wide brim of his hat, “...What?” Darcy smirked.

“Thought I'd offer, in case you wanted a photograph. You could glare at me some more later.” She replied lightly, turning back to the foliage and continuing on her way. Behind her, she could hear Steve busting out in chuckles, followed by a sharp 'ow!'.

Darcy hadn't gone this way before, along the faint track leading away from the temple and through the trees. Someone (Logan?) might have called out to her to stop, to slow down, but frankly her own ire was up. She'd become friends with Jane while still working her ass off and they -still- kept her in the dark, she'd gone out of her way to either be really nice, to or stay out of the way of the crew, and the Captain -still- diskliked her for some reason, and now they were gonna leave in a few days with, what felt like to her, precious fucking little to show for it.

Darcy was a little bit done, at least for the moment.

She kept stomping, heedless, through the tropical tangles, pushing palm branches out of her way as she went, cussing out The Captain, this moon, and the whole fucking expedition. Until the ground gave out under her feet like soft, mossy peat, and she was falling, falling through pitch blackness.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still slow build-up/character introductions, I've been painfully sick the past week and as such, not very productive! This shall soon change. Also, Laura in this AU has obviously had a much happier, if unstable childhood. Her trials are coming, though!

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_“God is in the endless sky. God watches over us, in the deepest darks, in the most vast expanses of space, Zher goodness follows us, if we seek it. If we offer up ourselves to the doing of good, nowhere is too far for God to find us. If we choose to remain apart from God, in darkness, of course, God is a courteous being. God gives us our space, and we may succeed in our functions without faith. And when we fail, Zhe generally has a good chuckle at our expense.”_

\- Rev. W. Wilson, addressing the colony of New Foundery, thirty minutes before he was torn to pieces by ravenous dogs after being caught making off with the full collection plates.

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“Ow.”

“An appropriate response,” Jarvis' even voice reached Darcy's ears as her eyes fluttered open, a sharp pain asserting itself from somewhere at the back of her skull. Squinting, she took in the far too bright room, recognizing it as the ship's infirmary. “You were unconscious for 10.4 minutes.” He went on, waggling a small flashlight in front of her eyes. 

“I hit a rock, felt like,” Darcy grumbled, sitting up on the shabby, patched and vaguely stained infirmary bed, at Jarvis' motioning. She faced the blond and impossibly groomed (for this part of space, anyway) AI, as he gave her pupils a closer look.

“The corner of a stone cairn, in fact, Doctor Foster is most excited by your discovery of it.” One corner of his mouth turned upward. “A minor concussion, I suggest staying off your feet and not allowing yourself to fall asleep for the next few hours, unless there is someone nearby to keep an eye on you.” 

“Roger that, sexy robot,” Darcy gave him a salute. Jarvis rolled his eyes, as Laura skidded into the room, half out of breath.

“I'll keep an eye on ya!” She piped up, hopping up onto the bed beside her. Darcy gave her young shadow a grateful smirk and a nudge. Jarvis merely smiled to himself, tucking his flashlight away and reaching for a syringe.

“Just to hedge our bets on the whole, potential brain damage, situation,” He explained, per Darcy's dubious expression, drawing a pull of liquid from a tiny bottle with a handwritten label. Needles weren't exactly high on her list of favorite things, but as her mom had always taught her, listen to the doctor.

“I didn't realize you were also the medic, Jarvis,” Darcy noted, attempting to distract herself from the impending needle attack, rubbing the bump on the back of her head again. There was a scab, but it was a small one. For how far it had felt like she'd fallen, that was lucky. Jarvis was shaking his head, reaching for her arm and finding a vein his first go.

“I'm only filling in, Miss Lewis,” He replied, smoothly, disregarding her slight wince and pressing a plaster over the injection site, “My knowledge is thorough and ever-expanding, but even I will admit that medicine on a vessel such as this requires a more...human touch.” Jarvis smirked, “Mr. Stark has been interviewing proper medics to fly with this ship for two years now, offered sizable paychecks to very qualified folk. And Captain Logan has shot down his every referral.”

“You know why,” Laura told Jarvis, pointedly, “And you are too human! Don't say otherwise 'round me.” Darcy watched as his lips pressed together in indulgent silence, his smile for the girl warm. 

“As you wish,” He dipped his head. Darcy would have prodded further, suddenly curious as to what had become of the last medic, but Jane chose that moment to run by the infirmary, stopping, backtracking, looking on her assistant with wide, manic and giddy eyes. 

“Darce, it's amazing!” She breathed, dirt smearing her skirts, her hands and her face. The parasol Jane always carried, to stick in the ground while she worked, was now slung over her narrow shoulders, spattered with some kind of goo, and for a moment, Darcy thought she must be hallucinating. “It's...it's the Rosetta Stone to all the gibberish we've been cataloging! You're amazing!”

“Yeah, I'm amazing at falling,” Darcy rubbed her eyes, attempting to get up, to both Laura and Jarvis' protesting, “I should be helping you...”

“No, no, rest!” Jane calmed a bit then, still smiling wide, “You did enough, heal up! Besides, we've got to wait until The Captain, Thor, and the Rogers finish killing off all the giant centipedes down there.” Darcy froze, eyes wide, the room spinning just slightly. It had nothing to do with her head injury.

“Giant...centi....”

“Mhmm,” Jane nodded, looking downright smarmy now, knowing her assistant's terror of the many-legged insects, “Scores of 'em in that musty tomb you fell into. You'd have been their dinner in a matter of seconds, if Logan hadn't jumped down right behind you, guns drawn.” 

“He...what?” Darcy blinked, “I thought he hated me!” Jane rolled her eyes, and Laura just laughed.

“Very dramatic.” Her boss noted, “You have got far too great a need to have everyone you meet like you, Darcy. Just because the Captain seems to not, doesn't mean he'd allow seven foot long insects to munch on you.” Darcy felt her stomach flip over again. 'Seven foot...' she mouthed. Jane smiled, so obviously in the best mood she'd been in for weeks, moving to leave, “Rest up, get better, tomorrow I'll need that excellent memory of yours helping me translate the glyphs!”

“Now I am appreciated,” Darcy sighed, smirking as her boss' footsteps faded down the hall. Jarvis hummed.

“She was correct, you are quite dramatic,” He noted, dipping his head, “You may go, ladies, please alert me should anything go ill.”

“Of course, Jarvis,” Laura stood on her toes to kiss his cheek, before leading a grumbling, yet good-natured Darcy out of the infirmary. 

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“Holy Hellspeth, there's a billion of 'em!” Steve laughed, as his gun went off and more gooey alien insect parts went flying. “I don't wanna know where this tunnel leads, because I am fairly certain it leads to some kind of nest, complete with a Queen. Which would probably be even bigger.”

“You know, I hear tell that back on Earth?” Ororo spoke up, from the opposite side of the cairn that sat just inside the ring of sunlight from above, her gun also aimed into the darkness, “Country called Japan had red centipedes like this...far, far smaller. You killed one, though, its buddies would catch the scent and come 'on out to see what'd happened...”

“Actually, they'd come out for the free meal,” Logan corrected them, grunting as he secured another strap around the large, coffin-sized stone box, motioning to Thor above, “Cannibals, all of 'em. Eat whatever meat's in front of 'em.” 

“S'a curiosity to me, Captain,” Ororo smirked, blasted apart another oncoming bug, “How you're always correcting our bits about the rock we came from...”

“Paid attention in school,” Was all Logan would give them, let 'em talk as they might, he thought. Above, having graciously waved aside Nat's offer to help, Thor's arms strained as, alone, he pulled on the thick rope Logan had tied to the cairn. Wound around a tree nearby, Thor only had to tug with his immense strength, and the stone box began to rise from the mud. Logan whistled, impressed, tilting back his hat as the alien pulled, Natasha gaped, and his first mate and best gun blew apart centipedes around him. 

“Still not convinced that you're not a thousand years old, sorry Captain,” Steve grinned, backing up in sync with his wife. They really did creep Logan out, at times, way the two of them moved together, scanning the darkness on either side of him in tandem, until Thor threw the rope back down. “Ladies first,” Steve bowed to Ororo, who gripped his collar and gave him a rough kiss before taking hold of the rope and letting herself be pulled upward. Logan drew his gun to cover her absence.

“I can assure you that I aint, bub,” Logan grumbled, squinting into the black, “Just...tend to know things, is all.”

“Like how you knew Foster's girl was heading straight for a sink hole?” Steve arched a brow. The rope was tossed back down, though, and Logan didn't get a chance to answer. Not that he had any, mind, and he knew Steve was aware of that fact. They'd flown together for too long for the genetically altered merc not to know that sometimes...Logan just knew things. In the skittering, momentarily lonely dark, he mused on how it had gotten stronger, lately. Knowing when hurt was coming before it came, knowing the past better than most eggheads Stark had them cart about the universe...

Hadn't helped him when it mattered, of course. Except for this time, he supposed...Darcy Lewis' frightened, wide-eyed face flashing sharply in his memory, as she was swallowed by the dark.

“Grab a hold, my friend!” Thor was calling, breaking Logan from his musing. He took the rope in his hands, rising up toward the surface just as a long, red, sinuous body came hissing toward him. A well-aimed shot took the things' head off.

A productive day.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, we'll learn about Thor soon! And next chapter, action happens.

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_“They'll say space is cruel, but to me that's a lazy, dismissive attempt at prose. The truth is harder to take. The truth is that space is indifferent, cold, void, beautiful in some of its functions yet essentially neutral. Space is ninety-nine percent emptiness, good people. It is not cruel, it is pure absence. People in space are cruel. People make of space what they want to, because they can't fucking handle something that is indifferent to them. Somehow, some way, they've got to bend space into what they want it to be. That's how we killed Earth, isn't it? Indifferent nature. We cannot handle that. I can, of course. I like that I had an indifferent backdrop. Do not call my chosen stage cruel. I AM CRUEL. I tortured, I killed, I destroyed, I tried to take the Central Planets. I am made of the same stuff you are, no matter your race. Space did not bend me into some monster, I bent myself and that scares you because that means that somewhere in you, you are just as cruel as I am.”_

General J. Schmidt, before his public execution by The Collective

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After so many days of fruitless studying, Darcy had expected Jane to cloister herself away with her new find until they were back on Gionorma, neither eating nor showering, if left without supervision. Her studious, single-minded boss surprised her, though, going loose-limbed and boneless as soon as the greenish stone cairn was hosed down and hauled inside of the ship. Slumping against the massive find, Jane was grinning wide, the happiest and most at ease that Darcy had ever seen her. It occurred to her, then, that her own nerves hadn't been the only ones strung tight over the past few days, that Jane had far higher hopes that had been slowly dashed, until that morning. 

“You look ready for a drink,” Darcy noted, and Jane beamed out from under her layers of grime, brightening up the whole cargo hold.

“Oh, I am,” The archeologist breathed, pushing herself back up to stand, “We're not leaving empty-handed, god Darcy that is such a relief!” Jane pressed her fingers into the glyphs covering the top of the stone, tracing them slowly. “You know these, right?” She asked of her assistant, enthused, and Darcy couldn't help but move forward, actually studying the rock that had broken her fall for the first time.

“...They're in...some older dialect of Kjin?” Darcy was fairly certain, her brow furrowing and her mind digging up all that she'd crammed on ancient dialects the previous semester. Jane grinned wide, obviously proud of her, and Darcy smirked a little to herself, pleased, more confidant. “Kjin, yeah I see the curving of the primary marks. But the hieroglyphs are the same as the ones we've been staring at for...” Her jaw dropped, “Holy shit, it IS a translation key!”

“Told you!” Jane breathed another deep sigh, “Ancient Kjin I can translate, which means every inch of that temple that you've photographed, I may just be able to make sense of. So yes, I am fine with having to leave now, Darcy. I may just puzzle out a whole lost civilization with this.”

“Congrats, bosslady!” Darcy made to punch the other woman lightly in the shoulder, and ended up getting tugged into a tight hug instead.

“You've been so supportive, and dedicated yourself to understanding this work, even when I can't always let on everything,” Darcy felt a pang at that, considering her morale of the last few days, “I knew going with my gut and choosing you for this project was the right decision,” Jane went on, grinning wide again, “Even if Doctor Selvig warned me not to.”

“Remind me to drop his class,” Darcy sniffed, pulling back, wrinkling her nose, “Moment's over though, your petticoats stink like dead centipede parts.”

“Right, that,” Jane went on, briskly, still beaming, “Shower, you've still got those bottles of green we packed?”

“You think I'd have drunk 'em all, alone, in my cabin?” Darcy scoffed, though...alright, the temptation had been great toward the end, it wasn't the most far-fetched conclusion. “I'll have them chilled down in the mess and waiting for dinner, sure the crew will appreciate it. Go get your alien boy-toy to soap you up and then hose you down.”

“I plan on it!” Jane called, already peeling off her stained kid gloves and tossing them away. Darcy sighed, happily, spinning on her heel a few times before heading to her own small quarters. A shower sounded kind of amazing.

 

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The rain started falling far earlier than anticipated. Pelting Jubilee's body, they could all hear the giant creature thrumming happily as the air around her cooled, fresh water bathed her scaly hull, and she moved a little in the resulting mud, enthralled. “Leviathans are born on a watery moon,” Laura noted, somewhat taking on her ship's dreamy, pleased mood. She always did that, Logan noticed, giving his little girl a smile from across the dining room table. “Their parents breed, they're born, weaned and taught to fly, all on Ulanis 3, so whenever they're in a rainy place, they get a little...childish.” She grinned around her dinner, as outside Jubilee's great fins slapped against the ground, like a hatchling playing.

“Just see to that she doesn't start rolling over like a puppy,” Ororo chuckled, pushing back from the table. Others took her cue, drawing back their seats, as the meal was well-demolished. Natasha was up in a fluid motion, clearing plates and stacking them on Steve's arms. Sometimes, Logan mused, he wondered if his first mate didn't command more by her slightest gestures than he ever did by actual verbal orders.

“Nah, she knows better,” Laura rose with her own dishes, taking Darcy's and her father's too, as they were on her way to the kitchenette, “She does wish we were stayin', though.”

“What's happy childhood memories for the ship, s'a soggy death trap for us,” Logan leaned back in his seat, against the ratty cushions tossed to rest against the bone walls, reaching for a cigar from his pocket...and then remembering that he was inside of the ship, and tucking it back. Ten years, and he still had yet to break the habit. He noticed Darcy Lewis watching him, giving him a smirk. Logan rolled his eyes.

“Like this moon wasn't a death trap before it rained,” Natasha noted, taking two of the now-chilled bottles of green, potent booze that Dr. Foster had graciously brought along. Having finished stacking everyone's dishes in the sink, Laura followed with the other two. 

“I'll stick to my ginger water, thanks ladies,” Tony proclaimed, sprinkling something green and no doubt foul and healthy into his iced drink, and Logan chuckled.

“Really stickin' with the sobriety this time, aint you boss?” He noted, and Tony nodded, wrinkling his nose as the other glasses were filled with the electric green alcohol.

“Well, even for me, the temptation to drink that swill is...minimal.” Logan knew that was only half-true, of course. An alcoholic would accept anything. His boss was in a good place these days, he could tell, even with the persistent layer of axle grease and the lingering scent of ozone on clothes that had, no doubt, been high-end at one time. He was going home, too, which, Logan knew, for as much as Tony Stark liked being out in the action, liked being free to tinker, he did have a very fine and powerful wife waiting for him, and he'd be seeing her soon.

“Snob,” Natasha scoffed, presently, at the boss' insult to the decent vintage of Kjinian wine Jane Foster had brought along on this adventure, loosing her corset and resting her boots on the table, raising a glass to said Doctor, who was still riding the heady high of her discovery at her big lug of an alien's side, “To Foster, thanks for the booze, and congrats on the big stone box.” 

Some hearty agreement from his crew around the table, and Logan had to smile, slow and wide, lofting his glass along with the rest. A productive job was a job well-done, and no one dead or maimed. His reputation remained solid. His eyes did drift back to the assistant though, as they seemed to have a bad habit of doing, in spite of himself. She was wearing that sweater again, grinning at Jane with wine to her lips...she seemed to have survived her fall all right. He frowned, looking away before she could look back, fixing his attention on his daughter instead.

“Tastes like candy,” Laura smacked her lips, handing Jarvis back his glass. The AI couldn't drink it, of course. It was a pointless game she'd played with Logan for years now, and the long-suffering robot was in on it. Technically, neither of them could drink alcohol, he because of his circuits, she because of her age. So he held the glass, and she pretended she was only taking a sip. Far too indulged, that girl, but Logan couldn't bring himself to see the harm. He was just glad to have somehow, some way, raised a happy kid...

“Thoughtsome tonight, Cap'n,” Ororo observed aloud, drawing his attention her way. She was wound around her husband, who eyed his alcohol ruefully. Poor Steve, even this stuff only worked so much on him.

“Content t'watch ya'll party, is all,” Logan nodded to Tony, “We're leaving tomorrow, then?” Tony nodded, around his ginger water.

“Site'll be impossible to traverse by morning. Hope you don't mind, Foster,” He looked Jane's way, but the scientist seemed more than all right, sharing a whole bottle with her blond, scale-covered fella. Raising it his way, “Right then.”

“Suppose I'd better head up and talk to Jubes, then,” Laura sighed, rising, “Get her warmed up and ready for warping in the morning.” The slim girl moved to go, pausing to kiss her father on the cheek, and Logan's smile only widened, wrapping an arm around her for a moment.

“Yer a good girl, sweetheart.”

“And yer a mean 'ol man,” Laura gave him her standard reply, moving on, “Be ready for a lock-down tomorrow, folks!” The girl left, and Steve winced hard at her words, groaning, and making Logan and the rest of the senior crew chuckle at his expense. Darcy Lewis and Jane Foster merely shared a perplexed look.

“...Steve, you made that face when we left Gionorma too,” Darcy was the one to ask, and Logan settled back against the wall, smirking, “I didn't wanna ask then, cause I didn't know you, but I gotta ask now...”

“He had a bit of an accident,” Ororo answered first, looking a little amused herself, yet linking her fingers with Steve's, squeezing his hand. “Case you didn't know, girly, Steve, Logan, Nat and I go back a looooong ways.”

“We didn't really know each other well back then, mind,” Natasha added, pouring herself another glass, “But we share some odd history.” At O's side, Steve was slowly relaxing again, and Logan did feel a little bit of a pang at how they ribbed the guy. Man was a friend, and Hellspeth knew they all had their own PTSD buttons. They'd just been together for far too long to worry about pushing 'em. In front of guests was different, though, and Logan was sure Kurt would have some pointed sermons on that point, when they were back planet-side.

“So, my first flight in a Leviathan was during the Collective Uprising,” Steve began, and Logan could see the confusion in Lewis' eyes. Steve just raised a hand, pausing the many questions on her tongue so that he might continue, “Remember how I said I was artificially-mutated?” Darcy nodded, “Well, I was the -first- successfully, artificially-mutated soldier, and they shipped me out to lead an assault on Hydra Corp on their own turf. The trip was supposed to take a month on warp, so...”

“They put you in cryo,” Jane guessed, squinting. Steve nodded, pointing.

“Only thing is? It was an old Leviathan,” He winced, “Near as can tell, poor guy's heart gave out mid-warp. Dead ship, in empty, dead space, with the whole crew on ice...”

“Oh god,” Darcy covered her mouth, and Steve nodded, reaching up to rub the bridge of his nose. Ororo's grip on his hand tightened.

“Stark Industries couldn't find the damn carcass for thirty years, and when they did, he was the only one who survived the cryo.” She murmured. Steve nodded again, looking over, giving her a smile.

“Hooray for genetic engineering, or sumthin'.”

“Blame my dad for taking so long to find him, please, not me,” Tony added, rubbing his brow. Steve chuckled.

“...Well, Jubilation's young and strong, yeah?” Darcy smiled, sliding another bottle over to the merc. She got a smile back, and Logan had to give her props for that much. 

“Does give me some fair amount of mental security, yeah.”

“So, that explains how -you're- old enough to have fought with the Collective...” Jane glanced around the room, and Logan grinned wide again, reaching for his own glass of the far-too-sweet, yet very potent brew. Natasha shrugged,

“I was the second attempt.” The redhead smiled, eying Steve fondly, wry, “Of course, I wasn't quite as moral in the core as this one, none of us were. The magic serum only worked on us so much, but it did keep me young.”

“I'm Gionorma's goddess of the weather,” Was all Ororo would say, as always, winking as she did, and Logan laughed, draining his glass.

“Healing mutation, kid.” He explained himself away with a shrug, “I mean, they gave me some metal on my bones after Rogers went AWOL, and in the end I thrust 'em up through the Hydra leader's skull.” At that, he let out a single claw, popping the cork on another bottle for a refill, “But yeah, near as I know, I just age real, real slow.” 

“Still can't believe I missed Schmidt's capture,” Steve grumbled. Natasha gave him a nudge though, hard.

“Hey, none of that.” She told him, “You led a helluvalot of men to victories in the skies over the homeworld, we wouldn't have even been able to push them off Gionorma without you.”

“Sides,” Ororo murmured, shaking him a little, “We're celebratin' tonight,” He smiled at her, warm and full, and Darcy winced.

“I didn't mean to bring up...” She started, but Steve waved a hand, shaking his head.

“Not at all, Miss Lewis,” He assured her, “Plenty of passengers have seen me twitch, so I've told the tale plenty of times.” 

“Happier topics, then!” Tony piped up, “Jarvis, top off everyone's glasses,” The AI rolled his eyes, but rose and did as he was bid, “By the by, my fucking dad was the reason you all met, should thank me. Now, Thor,” Tony fixed the large alien, who'd been cheerfully silent for most of the evening, with a piercing squint, “Everyone's sharing tonight. So where are you from, really?” Everyone looked his way. Thor just smiled, kindly, evilly.

“Far away.” Was all he said. Logan bust out laughing.

 

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A couple of hours later and with more than a few glasses of cool liquid courage in her veins, Darcy Lewis followed the Captain out of the mess as the evening was winding down, and the crew had began to disperse. She was heading for Jubilee's cockpit anyway, to get the okay from Jarvis to sleep after her head injury, and Logan was on her trajectory. They weren't far down the blue, slightly luminous hall before he became aware of her, sniffing the air, turning. Darcy gave him a smile, fiddling with her cuffs as she stepped closer and he fixed that questioning frown on her. 

“I just...I never got the chance to thank you,” She started, tilting her head to the side, trying to gauge his mood, to see if the drink had eased him somewhat, as it had for her. Darcy couldn't tell, “For jumping down there, for getting me out...”

“Yeah, well, not like I'd have left you to be lunchmeat,” He took in a deep breath, looking at her hard, surprising her with a sudden earnest stress, “Do you know how unbelievably -stupid- it was, to go runnin' off like you did?! Into -those- woods? Hell if it weren't the bugs or the pit, coulda been any number of...”

“Okay, I know!” Darcy huffed, glaring right back at him, her amiable air gone. Clearly, the booze hadn't been that agreeable, “I wasn't thinking clear and I was also having a shit morning, which I can kinda thank you for.” Okay, that was an exaggeration. He'd annoyed her mildly, yes, but that had been on top of a handful of far more legitimate complaints with how the expedition had been going. 

“S'just it, kid, y'can't afford not to think clear, on moons like this,” Logan sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face, “Get that through yer head, if you wanna survive any future trips with yer boss.”

“Fine, sorry, I'll work on that, I was just trying to thank you,” Darcy ground out, crossing her arms and meeting his glower with her own across the hall. Funny, how he could make her friendly, eager-to-please side go right out the window. Honestly, she didn't hate that fact, but she was still annoyed that he was being so rough, especially after such a nice evening, “Look, I don't know what I've done to offend you?” She went on, trying to at least not sound so riled. Damn jerk got her hackles up, “Can't be much, because you don't mind Laura following me around, but...”

“Yer a civilian,” Logan cut in, his voice quieter, and Darcy blinked.

“...Um, so is Jane, and so is Thor, and you're plenty nice to them...” 

“Not the same,” Logan shook his head, “Dr. Foster's been on digs a'plenty, and Thor's twice my size. Yer...” He paused, his jaw working, and Darcy could only frown, perplexed, as his eyes met hers. And then she had to look down, away, cause damnit, his eyes -were- older, were more warm...it softened something, around both of their edges, “...You run off into jungles,” He murmured. “Knew another gal once, who loved runnin' off. Got folks killed. Includin' herself.” 

Darcy licked her lips, taking a step back. So this was her second time tonight then, poking old wounds without knowing it. But then, she'd known lots of torn up people. Weren't that many folks back home who weren't. “I'm sorry.” She repeated herself, looking back up at him, “Really, I really am, I was just...I mean...how else am I gonna learn? It's still my first trip off world, and...”

“...And y'almost died, not listenin' to us.” Logan reminded her, firmly, though his voice wasn't quite so harsh now. Darcy winced, nodding, “Act smart next time we fly y'out, and maybe...maybe I'll bother to get to know ya.” He smirked, though, if only for a moment. Darcy returned the gesture, swaying a little on her feet.

“Why Captain Logan, that was downright friendly of you.” Logan snorted.

“Blame th'wine.” He then surprised her further by reaching out, after a moment of hovering, brushing at the rough sleeve of her jumper, as if testing the texture, “Yep, crap still feels the same.”

“Like scratchy, chemically-treated home, yes.” Darcy nodded, biting her lip. 

“Bout right,” Logan held eye contact for a long moment, before he abruptly stepped away, clearing his throat, striding down the hall, “Don't keep my kid up all night, she's got an early morning!” He called back to her, gruffly. Darcy grinned at his retreating form, giving his backside an appreciative glance.

“Aye aye, Cap'n.”

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	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff! This chapter turned out shorter than I expected, yet I am proud of it.

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“What is the wealth of a governed planet, against the freedom of the black? As a mutant, as a tool used in a war, yet not welcomed in the society I fought for, I will never truly have a place in that society higher than the smog clouds of Gionorma, no matter where I live. Unless, of course, I take to the skies.”_

\- Dr. Hank McCoy, publicly declining his invitation to the parliament of Karnim following The Uprising. 

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Laura Kinney had a hard time remembering the world before there was Jubilation's pulse sounding in her blood. She'd been five years old when Logan was hired by Tony Stark, his ship growing old and his new boss giving him funds to start raising a new one. Five years old, when her mother had died of the grey plague. Five years old when she'd first laid eyes on her father who, after lifting her up in his big arms and showing her around her new home, had presented her with a gift, lolling around in a huge tank in her new bedroom, a nylon bow tied around her neck, ends wafting in the water.

“She'll be too big to stay inside Harvey in a few months...” Logan was telling her, as she locked eyes with this new creature, shaped like a little whale, covered in bluish brownish scales and pressing her face right up to the glass, “...But I thought, maybe, havin' a friend your size for a little while, who...who's missin' her mama too, would...would help.” He'd cleared his throat, shifting on his feet, this tall (to her) man, rough and as yet unknown to her. Laura looked at the baby Leviathan again, who was now licking the glass, trying to get closer to her. Her mom was gone too. Laura turned that information over in her head, pressing a hand to the tank herself. 

“I love her,” She smiled, and she did. And before she was seven, she'd be one of the youngest pilots a Leviathan had ever had.

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The sky outside her companion's hull was a thick, matte shade of black this night, the rain blotting out the stars and the other moons, even great, looming Caliphid itself. Laura pressed a soothing palm to Jubilee's nerves, feeling the ship mustering herself. It wasn't a terrible strain on a young and hale ship, to get ready for a warp. It just required their focus and patience, like a human stretching before a run. That was how Laura liked to explain it anyway, and did so presently in response to Darcy Lewis' inquiry into Jubilation's state.

“Jubes actually really likes warping,” Laura went on, “She's just a little annoyed, having to leave right when this moon started getting all fun and wet and interesting.”

“One way of looking at the situation, I suppose.” Darcy looked to the screens again, squinting into the damp, inky darkness. “Gionorma will be plenty rainy too, this time of year.”

“Mmm true, but we'll not be staying long there,” Jarvis noted from his spot across from Laura, sorting through a pile of Mr. Stark's files. “Apparently, Sir plans to head off to the Rhorne system, and a negotiation regarding firamite mining within the week. He prefers to have Captain Logan and the Rogers' muscle present at trade negotiations.” Laura chuckled, nodding, knowing it to be true, and also knowing of their boss' personal interest in firamite and the many ways it could be manipulated. Into armor, for one... 

“But I mean, Laura would have to stay planet-side, right?” Darcy went on, frowning, “School year is about to start back home, they get kinda tetchy about attendance and all.” Laura nodded, knowing that to be true. Gionorma didn't have much of a government outside of the Merchants', but all the private sectors strictly enforced the public education of every single child on the planet. It wasn't perfect, and it involved all manner of droning indoctrination at the middle and lower class levels, but it was an education. 

“Miss Kinney certified at genius level two years ago,” Jarvis answered for her, the tone of pride evident in his otherwise proper, measured voice. Laura smiled, pleased, blushing a little as she glanced at Darcy, nodding. The older girl gaped, “She was thirteen and quite surpassing all of her classes at the Stark schools,” He went on, “Sir had her tested himself, and though his interest in having her as a pilot for more than six months out of the year was involved, her abilities are genuine. Since her certification, I have been deemed all the tutor that she needs to pass her yearly evaluations.”

“You could be at university right now, though!” Darcy blurted out, “I mean, no doubt you're great Jarvis, whole cortex at the twitch of your brainwaves and all,” The AI nodded, taking the compliment with a polite flourish, and Laura snickered. Darcy shook her head, “But...and oh gods, I went on about being one of the brains yesterday...” Laura laughed again, “Seriously, people who get certified are, like...”

“Set for life, I know,” Laura finished, her voice drifting, shrugging. She'd heard this before, and more. Darcy didn't heap on all the rest though, like other people did. How she could be shot up to a university on a much nicer, properly governed planet, back on her mother's native Karnim, even, sunny and rich. She could go on to a job far above what most mutants could, away from security or smuggling or any rough space whatsoever, before she was eighteen. She could be a scientist like Dr. Foster, or teach, or even become a Merchant herself one day. Darcy didn't bring any of that up though, and Laura was glad. She was done with adults going on and on about her many options, as if she didn't already know them. She was the genius, after all.

“Maybe one day,” Laura allowed, scooting closer to Jarvis, who remained engrossed in Tony Stark's paperwork, while simultaneously overseeing a thousand other tasks for the man, subconsciously, on the ship and for Ms. Potts back home. “Right now, though...I love it here,” She shrugged, smiling a little, “I learn plenty. I love Jubilation Lee. I love meetin' new people. And I...I love my dad.” She bit her lip, thinking. She'd almost left, two years ago. Her father had been happy for her then, and so proud, and would always talk about how she'd made him a better man to anyone who'd listen. And then...well. Things had gone bad. “He still says I should go, but he needs me. Maybe one day he won't, but for now he still does. Jubes and I are all he has.”

“Well, good on him for leaving the choice up to you, anyway.” Darcy allowed, resting back against the walls, looking far-off and thoughtful. Laura was beginning to recognize that look. Ms. Lewis had a busy mind, for all she gave off a carefree, thick-skinned demeanor. It's why Laura looked up to her so much. Smart as she was, Laura could stand to be a little more thick-skinned herself. And she could tell that Darcy was presently trying to puzzle out her dad again, as she so often did. It was another thing Laura liked about her. Her dad could use someone like Darcy... “If...you don't mind my asking, Laura, where's your mother?”

Laura blinked. Not what she'd expected, but still related to Logan, so, “Oh! She passed away a long time ago,” She replied, leaning back to back with Jarvis, who merely shifted slightly to accommodate her, eyes still on his files, “Ten years now...she was an Escort on Karnim. Dad was working for Shield Corps when they uh, met,” She grinned, recalling their big, lovely house on the governed planet, “He'd gotten a bonus, decided to spend it on some time with her.” Darcy whistled, and Laura nodded. Even she found it hard to picture her father, keeping company with a Lady like her mother, in all her screened silks and finery...

“And just by Captain Logan's luck,” Jarvis added, smirking just slightly, “That was during a time when The Church of Faunray was committing petty acts of inconvenient, religious terrorism against the Escort's Guild,” He sniffed, shifting his papers, “They had managed to hijack a large shipment of the planet's contraceptives and replace them with placebos, undetected until much later. Lady Kinney was among the effected.” 

“The Happy Accident, that's me!” Laura noted cheerily, as Darcy bust out laughing, clutching her sides. “Right?! Luckily, my mother was more than able to care for a kid,” She noted, as the amusement faded, “...Thing was, she had no family,” Laura's smile dropped a little, with a shrug, “And so, when the grey plague took her, the Escort's Guild repossessed her home, as was their right. But, well, as a mutant, I was ineligible for the Guild's boarding school. I only had dad to raise me, and he came as soon as he heard.” Darcy nodded, biting her lip.

“I'm sorry to bring it up, I just...thought it might've been something more recent,” She crossed her arms, tucking her hair behind her ears, and Laura tilted her head to the side, watching her.

“Don't worry, I was really little, and she's a good memory...why, did he mention something?” Laura could tell he had even before the older girl nodded, and that rather amazed her. Laura had been able to puzzle out her father's behavior around Darcy easily, but for him to actually speak up...and to say anything about her mother, whom he'd only known for an evening...

“He said I ah, reminded him of someone?” Darcy colored, just slightly, and Laura nodded, suddenly understanding, though still puzzling over the shock of Logan admitting to a feeling. To a civilian. Even if it was one whom Laura could tell he liked.

“Dr. Grey,” Jarvis was the one to respond, squinting at her now, “Though I do not much see a physical resemblance.”

“Jean was...a bit reckless. And married,” Laura added, pointedly. It had been a point of contention back then, after all. Darcy was listening attentively, though, and she sighed, “Jean Grey and her husband Scott were hired on by Mr. Stark when I was eleven and they were...they were great. She was an amazing doctor, Scott and Uncle Steve worked well together...but things got complicated. Dad was really smitten.” She saw Darcy's frame freeze, her expression a bit wary, no doubt at the implications. Laura shrugged, “She liked him, too, but she loved Scott more of course. And one day, on mission, they...well,” She cleared her throat, “They were killed a little bit after I was certified. Dad...took it really hard.”

“Gotcha,” Darcy huffed out a breath, cracking her knuckles. Laura winced, “...So. That's, well. That's a thing?” Darcy tilted her head, and Laura had to snort, spying her expression. “...Everyone on this boat has been through hell.”

“Almost everyone,” Jarvis noted, finally setting his last papers aside, carefully making sure the stack of files was even before cracking his knuckles, “In my five years of breathing, the three persons about whom I care have remained perfectly safe.”

“Lucky you,” Darcy smirked, “Can an AI care about someone?” She asked it honestly, though, and Laura gave him a smile, over her shoulder. Jarvis dipped his head.

“I was given the full ability to assume a personality, of my building,” He began, linking his long, pale fingers together across his knees, in their smart slacks, “I am able to have interests, to choose which subjects to keep especially close to the surface. To choose how I interact with people. Even the man who created me to work for him,” He studied a seam on his sleeve, frowning, plucking away an errant thread, “All to the point. Yes, I do have feelings. Perhaps more removed than your own, true, I haven't the sudden, blood-rushing emotions of biological things, but...I care for Sir, Ms. Potts, and Miss Kinney, very much. I am protective of them. Not a human progression, perhaps, but...”

“More human than you realize,” Laura told him, with a nudge. Darcy smiled, and Laura was aware of how odd she and her only friend, besides Jubes, looked. Jarvis looked much older, yet was much younger than her. And they were both staggeringly intelligent. “Yer not so unlike dad, actually, which I've said before,” Laura yawned, “It usually takes years for dad to care about someone.” With a couple of exceptions, it seemed. Darcy was looking down again.

“...Uh oh,” Jarvis' head snapped up, his pale blue eyes flashing with text and numerals, and then he sighed, shaking his head, “Sir is flooding his quarters with smoke again.” 

“Jubes turned off her sensors near Mr. Stark's rooms years ago,” Laura explained, at Darcy's alarmed look to the ship's nerve-cluster, as Jarvis swiftly rose to go.

“Study your chapters in Ecthology tonight!” He tossed over his shoulder, making her laugh, and she called a promise to do so right back.

“Maybe it's a good thing that I'm leaving...” Darcy hummed, and Laura shook her head.

“You'll be back, in a few months' time, though.” She smiled, “By then, who knows...maybe I'll've meddled in dad's personal life.”

“...I like you, kid.”

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The time ticked down, as space and time swirled around their scaly hull. Steve excused himself to his and Storm's quarters with a hiccup, and footing was a little unsteady, as Jubilation Lee sped through her warp. Logan was very used to this by now, though. He'd been holding his footing through warps for a century already, what was twelve hours? He did mind his crew, though, seeing that Steve was faring all right, that Ororo had all she needed to tend his ills, that the civilians were getting by just fine. 

Much of his spare time he spent in the cockpit with Laura, when she wasn't otherwise in the company of her new, older friend. It was better to steer clear of Miss Lewis, he'd decided. Better than being rude, better than being too friendly. She was lovely, she was feisty, and she was best avoided. Even so, for how she brightened up his daughter, Logan found himself no less smitten even if it was from afar. That damn girl, she was already under his skin, with her easy smile, her desire to be useful...

They were two hours out of home space when Tony joined he and Laura by Jubes' nerve cluster, freshly showered, brushed, combed, and preened, wearing a newly pressed suit. 

“Dapper, boss!” Logan whistled, grinning, and Tony Stark gave a good-natured bow in reply. 

“I've a wife and a CEO of my operations to meet in two hours, bathing seemed...prudent,” Tony handed Logan a file, then, fixing him with a look. Logan knew that look too, it meant he was expected to do something, approve something, shoot something...one of 'em, “My latest candidate for on-board medic. Let me know now, whether or not I should just cancel our interview now.”

Logan smirked, feeling his daughter's eyes boring into him as he took the file, flipping it open. He read, though, and his expression cleared, brows lofting, head tilting. “Huh,” The mutant grunted, actually turning the next page. It was unprecedented, he knew, and knew that the two other humans and one AI in the room were taken aback by the action. “...I like 'im.”

Tony blinked, taking a step back, “...Just like that?” Stark framed Logan in his two gloved hands, like a photograph, licking his lips, “I feel I should take a mental picture of this moment. James Logan, have you lost your mind entirely?” Logan laughed, shaking his head, handing the file back to Jarvis. 

“I haven't,” He sniffed, scratching behind a mutton chop, “Man'd be right for this ship.” Tony stared some more. Logan rolled his eyes. I wasn't as if he didn't know why his boss was flabbergasted. He just didn't much feel like explaining himself, but, well, it seemed like he'd have to anyway. Two years of saying a flat out 'no' to every candidate had kind of made this his bed. 

“You -did- see the guy's handicap, yes?” Tony asked, brow lofted, “I don't have issue with it, but you...?”

“It means he'll not be taking any stupid risks,” Logan replied, sighing, pointing to Bruce Banner's file in Jarvis' hands, “Man seems to know his damage real well, knows how to handle and conduct 'imself. And if he's as brilliant at patchin' folks as you say, I won't even need the interview.” Logan huffed, as if all this should be obvious to them all. It should be, “Plenty of folk can be doctors, boss. Brilliant kids with a real gift. But hardly any of 'em, 'specially the gentrified, smart ones, know what it means to survive in space.” He paused, tilting his head as Tony struggled with an expression, “...Yer finally gettin' that, aint you?”

As Logan expected, Tony grinned, nodding, hands in his pockets, “Sure did, gruff-guy. S'why Banner stuck out to me, too. I've met the man, he -is- brilliant, and won't get in any jack-booted merc's way. Man avoids conflict like the five plagues, and yet he'd really like a steady job. He's perfect, really, I just wanted to see if you'd agree.”

“I do,” Logan grunted, mildly annoyed at being out-foxed. Near his ankles, guiding the ship, his daughter chuckled. 

 

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	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now the action, at last, begins. Much to my excitement! There are so many things I just can't wait to get to...

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 __  
 _“'Advanced races' may be a stretch, when one considers that we're still doing terrible things to each other.”_  
\- The Cailphid System  & You, by Dr. Jane Foster 

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“Sumptuous,” Pepper Potts hummed, greeting Tony Stark with a kiss on the docks, all white frills and tight laces as rain pattered the cool stones paving the platform. They had Ororo to thank for the weather, Darcy mused, glancing up at the shifting, slate-colored sky, flecked with occasional sunbeams. As they'd broken atmo, the first mate had slipped into the cockpit, her eyes turning white and the air rippling 'round the hull, the smog clouds cut through and replaced by natural ones, heavy with rain, parting for Jubilation Lee as she slid into the atmosphere. The ship was grateful for the transition, Darcy could tell.

“I hear we've been given a great gift, thanks to your knock to the head!” Darcy nearly tripped over her own boots, as Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries and the most poised, beautiful women Darcy had ever seen in person, addressed her directly. Slipping off the ramp down from the ship, Darcy managed a smile, shrugging, while behind her Jane Foster was practically glowing.

“What can I say, I've got a knack for falling with style,” Darcy shrugged, grinning, shadows of taller, seasoned crew members passing her by, Pepper smiling their way as well.

“There's a buffet spread out inside, help yourselves before you dare start unloading the ship!” She called to the crew, fixing Tony with her pointed stare now, “Logan approved Bruce. You're absolutely certain?” She asked, with a tone that allowed for no funny business, and in his suit, Jarvis standing tall at his side, Tony nodded emphatically.

“Said he didn't seem the type to go rogue...is there champagne in there?” Tony asked with a whine, and as Darcy and Jane passed out of ear-shot, eager to eat fresh, non-canned food, Darcy heard Pepper chuckling, murmuring.

“Just to loosen them up after a long journey. We'll have our own party soon enough, dear, just the two of us...”

“He makes so much more sense as our boss, after meeting her,” Darcy noted, grinning, slipping out of the rain and into the hangar, where an impressive spread was laid out. Drinks chilling, hot sandwiches, she felt her mouth watering at the scent after weeks of space rations. The rest of the crew was already devouring their share.

“She's our actual boss,” Jane divulged, tugging off her gloves and looking almost as ravenous as a big, muscly hired gun herself, reaching for a plate, “His is the brilliant, wealthy name that gets stamped on everything.”

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After lunch, during which Logan and Thor were both strangely absent, Laura returned to the ship to change her clothes, slipping back out through the cargo bay as Thor and her father were hefting the large stone cairn onto a small hover platform. The loading tool only just managed to stay aloft with such a great weight on it, barely hovering an inch off the ground. “What's in it, you reckon?” She asked, drawing the attention of Darcy, who was watching the whole affair from the cargo bay doors that opened in Jubilation's tough hide.

“We're not sure anything is, actually,” She divulged, and Doctor Foster nodded, moving to inspect the cairn as it was resting on the platform, touching the various markings around the sealed lid, “From what we've been able to measure on our trip back, seems like this stone is just...really, weirdly dense! Way more than the surrounding marble was on that moon. S'gonna be interesting, to work out how and why that is.”

“Suppose this means you'll have a full docket waiting for ya when we leave, mm?” Logan asked, cleaning off his hands and turning back to the ship, and the two girls standing just inside of it. Laura wanted to ask where he'd been during lunch, but presently she was a bit too interested in the fact that he was actually talking politely to Darcy. She wondered if it was the clothes. Darcy was in her proper, cream-colored traveling suit again, her hair pinned up, makeup done. Logan always did tend to be nice to a woman who had her war paint on. With a pang, Laura realized it was probably the last she'd see of her new friend for a couple of months...same with Logan. It was a nice final image, she figured.

“Well, we'll see how much I even get told about the project at large,” Darcy smirked at him, before sending a pointed look to her own boss. “Eh, Science Lady?”

“Your clearance is going up, so yes,” Jane called, just outside of the rain fall, still inspecting her find, not yet pushing it toward the main hangar. Laura knew why. There was a transport waiting inside to hurry the cairn off to a research facility in another, more private, secure part of the city. It would take some time going through planet customs, and the scientist was clearly attached, enthused, wanting to try and dust off some more clues before she was forced to wait a few days to continue with her work. “A day or two, the paperwork will go through, and you'll find out why we were there in the first place.”

“See? Moving up in the world already!” Darcy beamed, overly cheery, and Logan just shook his head, giving her a little smirk before moving away, starting in on the other cargo on board. Laura didn't miss his manner. He was tearing himself away. She smirked a little herself, as Darcy colored, smoothing her skirts. She noticed Laura's own clothes for the first time then, tilting her head, “Damn, y'look nice,” Darcy nodded to Laura's dark blue romper and stockings, the gems in her ears, “Where you off to, kiddo?”

“Jarvis is taking me to church,” Laura replied, pleased, smoothing her long black hair. Behind her, looking equally dapper, Laura noticed to her pleasure, the aforementioned AI appeared as if summoned. “Mr. Wagner, the ship's usual Preacher, just got back to Gionorma too, after his pilgrimage. Dad likes for me to catch his sermons whenever I can.”

“S'good for ya.” Logan called, from where he and Thor were now gathering up and stacking the boxes of food supplies, ammo, and various sundry items, to be tallied and accounted for, before no doubt going right back into the ship. Stark Industries did always make sure they were stocked with more than they'd need, for a single mission.

“All Stark ships are required to travel with a preacher, also,” Jarvis answered Darcy's unspoken question, dipping his head as he put on his hat, “Tend to any ailments that may arise, spiritually speaking, among the crew. Ready with the last rites, if it comes to that. However, as Captain Logan will only suffer Preacher Wagner, this ship is granted some amount of leeway, when the pastor must make his pilgrimages to the various abbeys...”

“Y'talk about me too much, Jarvis,” Logan grumbled, stacking boxes onto Thor's waiting arms. Jarvis merely tipped his hat to Ms. Lewis, who laughed.

“Ugh, I need my books,” Jane was grumbling, frowning down at a certain spot on the cairn. No one else seemed to really notice, except perhaps Darcy, as the archeologist jabbed a marking with her fingers, “My ancient Kjin is rusty, this phrase right here...”

“Let me?” Laura proposed, timidly at first, yet when Jane's bright expression met hers, and she motioned her down the ramp, Laura hurried down to meet her, excited, “I've just been studying Kjin, maybe it's fresh in my head...” She suggested, and Jane tugged the hovering cairn further into the slacking rain, for better light. Dipping her head into the still-weeping air, Laura squinted at the marks, sounding the vowels out.

Behind her, she could hear the continued stacking of boxes, and Darcy still chatting about something with Jarvis. So intent was Laura's focus on the marks and hieroglyphs, that she didn't immediately register the flash of white light that enveloped the dock. Not until the man was looming over she and Jane, seeming to be a part of the suddenly blinding, sharp beam of light. He was a black shape against the white, in a long coat and wide-brimmed hat. From under that hat, however, Laura was able to make out a thin, long face, a wide grin, sharp green eyes, and shining grey scales curling up over his cheekbones.

“BROTHER!” Thor's bellowing snapped Laura and Jane out of their shared stupor, but too late. As if the cairn were suddenly a huge magnet, they were welded to the stone. The light stretched, retreated, Laura, Jane and the strange man along with it, tearing them away from the surface of Gionorma altogether. Laura screamed for her father...she couldn't know if he'd heard.

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Logan had nearly dropped the crate of ammo he was holding, when the blinding beam of light hit the docks. Gathering himself just enough to set it down gently, he'd gaped, moving forward, staring dumbfounded at the focused beam enveloping the cairn, Jane, and his daughter. 'A tractor beam,' too late, the dots connected in his head, just as the slim male figure appeared, in a long leather duster and wearing the grin of someone with more than a few screws loose.

Laura... “LAURA!” He shouted, as to his left, Thor shouted at the same time, the two of them rushing forward as the girls both screamed, and then were gone in another blinding flash, the rest of them left shocked and blinking into the sky. 

Just like that...plucked off the dock in a beam of light, that heavy cairn and all. Logan felt his nerves go numb, looking around wildly, his little girl nowhere to be seen, his sweetheart of a kid...gone in a flash...she'd screamed for her dad...

He wasn't allowed much time to process what he'd just seen, however. Barely a moment after they'd gone, Jubilation let out a mighty wail around him, her bulk rocking. Realization hitting him, Logan surged forward, shoving Darcy and Jarvis out to join Thor on the empty dock, just as Jubilee started shutting her cargo doors. “She's panicking!” He shouted to them, Darcy meeting his eye all confused and shell-shocked, before the doors snapped shut.

Praying everyone else was still in the hangar bay, Logan began running full-tilt through the ship. Under him, he felt Jubilation rising, heard her crying out for her pilot, knowing her sense of Laura's presence had just been severed. Distantly, as he ran, Logan knew this meant she was somehow off-planet, out of orbit, even. His gut churned over...he didn't know of a single tractor beam that worked like that, that could take her so far away so fast, that Jubilation couldn't feel her.

By the slant to the hallway, Logan knew Jubes was trying to head back into space, desperate to find Laura's brainwaves. Clawing, climbing, he finally made his way into the cockpit, and with a gasping, pained apology of “I'm sorry you've gotta see my head, girl,” he put his own bare hands to the ship's nerve cluster.

She bucked, she spun, she wailed, and Logan put all his thought into telling her, with his scarred-up, cynical mind that was such a foreign place to her, that Laura was gone. Laura had been taken. They didn't know how or why but Jubes needed to calm down, please calm down, so they could start lookin'.

A deep, pained emotion filled his head from the great beasts' mind, before slowly, slowly, Jubes began calming down, circling back to the docks.

Logan sat back, catching his breath, running a palm over his face. So fast. One minute she was there, the next...a jolt, a sorrowing hum, as Jubes landed back on the dock again. She'd shouted for him, looked right at him and shouted for her father to come save her.

It had been too fast, though. Logan pressed his hands into his eyes, hard, stuck on what his next course of action was. 'She'd shouted for me...' kept echoing in his head, as Jubes settled, and he stood, numbly walking back to the cargo bay. 'She shouted for me...' Logan paused. 

Laura hadn't been the only one shouting, he suddenly recalled the scene with more clarity, and he started running, brow furrowing, a snarl rising. Thor had shouted, too. Thor had shouted _brother_.

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	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my perfect world, this would be a comic book and therefore not in need of so much description and introduction, but ah well, I am writing this for my own pleasure and at last, we'll be digging into my dear characters. For now, enjoy Logan trying not to maim anyone.

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 _"Show me your true colors when my heart is at it's breaking point, and perhaps, if you're very lucky, I might let you aid in mending it."_  
\- Alice to June, in the Kjinian classic film reel, _The Last Three Moons_  
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Darcy flexed her hands, whirling around, eyes everywhere, but Laura and Jane were nowhere. “JANE!” She shouted toward the smoggy skyline of Gionorma, knowing it to be in vain more than likely but fuck all, it was something to do. Something that almost felt productive. At her side Jarvis looked just as alarmed, his face creasing in worry lines that made him look as human as any of them, and in the coming weeks, Darcy would come to view this moment as pivotal, for the AI. Presently, her gaze fell on Thor however, and a glare twisted her features.

“I heard you!” She called, stomping toward him across the dock, as Jubilation settled back down from the sky nearby, “You yelled, you yelled 'brother'. What the hell, where's Jane?!” She shouted up to the man, coming almost up to his pecs, face to face. Despite her lack of height though, Darcy's glare didn't falter, and Thor was properly shame-faced.

But whatever he might have said to her, it was lost as the ship's cargo bay reopened. Behind her, Darcy actually heard Jarvis -swear-, seconds before Logan's fist collided with Thor's jaw, knocking the tall alien down, “WHO THE HELL WAS THAT?!” The Captain bellowed, and Darcy stepped backwards, simultaneously in awe and wary of Logan in that moment, his long claws snapping out of his fists, chest heaving as he looked down at Thor. He'd been so controlled every time she'd seen him previously, if grumpy and taciturn. Now it was as if nothing in the 'verse could hold back the animal Darcy realized he'd kept so well hidden.

To his credit, though, the alien did not meet Logan's fists. Thor remained on the ground, as, having heard Jubilee leave and then return in rapid succession, not to mention having seen the glaring light, the rest of the crew was hurrying out of the hangar bay and onto the dock. Jarvis moved to intercept, swiftly recanting the events to Ororo, Steve, Tony and Natasha, as Thor and Logan stared each other down, each gauging the other.

“I will be frank,” Thor spoke first, slowly, “My brother is a trickster and a thief, but I'd never thought in a thousand ages to see him here, and we are not in league in this mischief, I swear!” He forced out, vehemently, and Darcy looked to Logan. He met her eyes...somehow, the fact that the both of them believed Thor had Logan retracting his claws, snorting.

“Who the hell are you, bub?” He asked in a grunt, and Thor stood, slowly, swallowing hard.

“...I am from a far-removed planet,” He began, raising his hands to stave off the long-suffering groans that met his same old answer, “No, I speak truly. It would take a Leviathan many lifetimes to reach my home world from here. My people have one device, for traveling such distances, and it is used sparingly, very sparingly...”

Logan looked ready to use force to demand more, Darcy could see. Moved forward by mad impulse, she found herself near to him, reaching out with a hand to catch his arm, eyes begging him to wait...for what, she wasn't sure. But she did know he was meeting her gaze, jaw working, calming himself down despite the ache in his eyes. Darcy knew, she understood, squeezing his arm as he calmed. This was the man's kid, here. Even so, taking it out on Thor, who'd just had someone he'd loved snatched away too, wasn't going to help.

“He's talkin' truth,” Tony Stark piped up, moving toward Logan, hands also raised in a diffusing gesture, Jarvis a step behind him, “I can tell you more, Captain, the deets and all about what Foster was digging up, and how it ties in with Thor?” Tony spoke cautiously, waiting until Logan relaxed further, his claws snapping back into his knuckles, Darcy's grip on his arm loosing, “Right now, right this second, we need to know who and where and why the hell the gals are gone, not break any more very handsome faces...”

“When last I left my home, my brother was serving time for various crimes, I have no idea why or how he is here, now.” Thor spoke, his expression still pained. For all this guy had been an enigma the entire time she'd known him and it kinda pissed her off, Darcy still felt compelled to trust his word on this one, and with a last squeeze to Logan's arm, she let him know before letting go. 

“He loves Jane,” She reminded him, quietly, “I can tell you that much for sure, I'm the one who's I've been stuck with 'em for weeks.” 

“Right, so, let's be reasonable here...” Tony paced, stopping, looking suddenly to Jarvis, “The earrings! Oh gods, please tell me she was wearing them!” Jarvis' whole face lit up then, nodding, a smile just touching the edges of his lips. Logan frowned again.

"Wait, what?"

"Her earrings, the sapphire ones I gave her, for her 15th birthday?" Tony prompted, “They're a com-link, to Jarvis.” and Logan stared. 

"The ones I could never pay ya back fer…They link her to this ol’ hunk of bolts?!" 

“I resent that, I am five years old." Jarvis frowned, but Darcy caught his eye and shook her head, to keep the AI from saying anything further. 

"Now why in the hell would she need that?” The captain called, clearly not thinking in the moment, and Tony rolled his eyes,

"Because she’s madly in love with him," Tony mocked his fatherly short-sightedness, deadpanning. "…Also, because Laura’s the pilot of the most coveted Leviathan in the galaxy, and one day, Jarvis and I both feared she might get nicked. Funny, how I um, kind of predicted that?" Tony looked to his valet again, expression serious, “She knows how they work, yes?” 

“Yes,” Jarvis nodded, “As soon is she is granted a chance, she will no doubt contact me.”

'If she gets one...' Darcy thought, but didn't dare voice.

“So there's something,” Ororo spoke up, moving forward and clapping Logan on the shoulder, and at his first mate's touch the man seemed to deflate a bit, taking a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his face, rationale returning, “Calm down, Captain. We've got a connection. Steve and I'll keep Jubes warm and calm herself, 'til you work out a course of action.” 

“Mr. Stark, should I call Clint?” Natasha asked, and Darcy watched with awe as the rest of the crew mustered themselves, ready to make themselves useful on a dime. Logan remained standing, now staring hard at the ground, silent.

“Please,” Tony nodded to the assassin, “Poor sad girl's gonna need a pilot, and he's the only other one she'll accept.” Nat nodded once, her boots clipping away on the stone docks. As people began mobilizing around them, Tony Stark fixed Darcy with a look, the absent-minded tinker she'd shared a ship with for two weeks replaced with her serious, overly-calm boss, “Ms. Lewis, Captain, I think it's time for the giant scaly alien here and I to fill you in on some things.”

“Please,” Logan finally spoke again, his voice rough, looking up at Tony sharply, “First time I'm askin' ya, boss. Tell me everything.”

“Will do.”

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Logan had only been inside of Tony Stark's office at Stark Tower once before, on the day he'd been interviewed to fly for the man ten years earlier. Stark had poured him a glass of scotch then, not yet on the wagon, and had asked him all of one question, after flipping through Logan's record with Shield. “You won't steal from me, will you? I mean, judging by this I know you probably won't, but I still like to ask, face to face.” Logan had snorted, chuckled, and shook his head, and he'd had a new, better-paying job with which to support his kid.

The office looked very similar now, a decade later. Brass gadgets on shelves lined the dark paneled walls, weapons components, a preserved automobile engine in a sealed glass case. The liquor cabinet was gone now, though, and in its place was a new case, housing what looked to be a crude first attempt at some kind of body armor, made of firamite. Logan might have looked closer, if he weren't currently so distracted. 

Taking a seat on the deep red sofa, his eyes remained on Tony as the man circled his own office, waiting. Logan purposefully ignored Thor, who leaned back against the large desk. The only thing that stole away Logan's focus was Miss Lewis, and her relatively slight frame making an indent on the cushions beside him. The rain outside had ruined her coif, and on the trek up the tower she'd systematically removed the pins, her hair now in long damp waves around her face, her one nice outfit. Darcy looked so small, with her narrow shoulders, her blurred makeup and damp clothes, and yet the expectant frown she was also sending his boss' way betrayed how small she very much wasn't. She was an impressive gal. Logan tried not to notice how good she smelled right then too, his untimely, more feral senses keyed up at the moment.

“So, Doctor Foster,” Tony finally began, once Jarvis had joined them and shut the office door behind him, with a word to the stoic, determined Pepper Potts outside. “She's been a Stark-funded archeologist ever since she left Culver. I like history, old stuff informs a lotta new stuff, yadda yadda,” He patted the case that housed the engine, “Folks have a habit of not taking her work seriously, not finding it relevant or profitable to study lost civilizations. I thought different,” Tony reached up, pushing a hand through his messy hair, unbuttoning his vest, his fine suit already going rumpled, “Her work's taken her all over, usually with my much smaller, less...muscle-oriented crews...”

“Until us,” Logan continued, an impatient edge to his voice. Tony nodded.

“She proposed the trip to Caliphid Four, to study the ruins two months ago. I approved it, and was gonna give the job to Mavis' crew,” He went on, “And then a month and a half ago, this lug...fuckin' falls out of the sky.” Tony jerked a thumb at Thor, who cleared his throat, the bruise on his cheek already turning a satisfying, puffy shade of purple. Logan smirked.

“What I said outside is true, my homeworld is very distant, and we've only one transport for traveling that distance...” The Alien spoke, “And one who watches over it, a guardian, who sees far into space.” Logan arched a brow, but didn't speak. In his periphery, Darcy crossed her arms. Thor went on, “He saw Jane, saw the work she planned to do, and what she'd no doubt discover there. A vote was taken, I was sent to guide her efforts.”

“Not exactly clear enough,” Miss Lewis piped up, frowning. Tony sighed.

“His people used to be able to warp,” He said, flatly, “Artificially. No Leviathans involved, they had actual -spaceships-, kids.” Logan blinked, taken aback, and all right, points to the boss for completely dumbfounding him. “And yeah, I didn't believe the golden god here either, when Foster first yanked him into my office. Then he had me put on a prototype of...some body armor R&D is working on, and took me to his home planet himself for convincing. I saw the damn thing, I -warped- through deep space and back, without a ship.”

“Bullshit...” Logan protested, shaking his head, even though he knew that Tony Stark, for all his eccentricity, was no fool and wouldn't make this shit up. Still, the whole concept was...

“So, you say your people finally cracked the warp code...and then, what?” Darcy asked the question Logan had just begun to form, her blue eyes narrowing, “They lost it?”

“Not precisely,” Thor murmured, “The code itself somehow...changed. Five hundred years before humans left Earth, all our ships, from the great carriers to the smallest skiffs, either refused to warp, or dropped out of it, never to be heard from again,” He sighed, “All but our one device, a transport that is rooted to the ground. And even it is slowly failing as the centuries pass...”

“So, Foster,” Logan prompted, gathering himself and deciding to just go with the weird. He fell back on what he'd always fallen back on...he was the muscle, the instincts, the gun and the claws. The science was for the boss and for Laura to understand, ludicrous as it sounded to him. Logan wanted the prudent information. “She was about to recrack the code?”

“Potentially,” Tony nodded, “Those ruins were built by a society completely singular. Like, they don't exist anywhere else. We're pretty certain they were descendants of some of Thor's people, who'd dropped out of space and mingled with the natives.”

“Fifteen-hundred years isn't really long enough for those ruins to be in the state they are, though,” Again, Miss Lewis was on the ball with the information. Logan actually looked to her this time, appreciating her studious frown, “Nor for a language to have developed like that...hell, ancient Kjin hasn't been spoken in like, three thousand years.”

“Exactly. What ruins we could understand led Jane to believe that they'd developed some unstable, time-warping device, that messed with things, before wiping themselves out,” Tony pointed, “Smart girl. And given a few weeks with that box, I got no doubt you and Foster would have their work decoded. Thor showed up to help...”

“And got into my boss' pants in the process,” Darcy bit her lip. Logan frowned deeper, certain things falling into place in his head now, and his voice lowered to almost a growl.

“Who else knew?” He rumbled, looking to Tony, who was pressing his lips together, hard, “Suddenly the security went up, you called me for my crew 'stead of Mavis', our guns coverin' Foster and Miss Lewis here from all sides. Warp code would be all kinds of priceless to the other merchants. So who was it with the loose lips?”

“Foster's last assistant,” Tony answered, flatly, nodding to Darcy, “S'why you were put through the ringer with background checks, apologies Miss Lewis but young Mr. Hunter turned out to be a Hydra-corps mole,” Tony's cheek twitched, as did the metal in Logan's bones, or so it felt like, “They may be next-to-nothing these days, Logan, but that just means they'd be all the more dangerous, given knowledge of our hushed-up project.”

“But it was his brother who took them,” Darcy looked to Thor, frowning, “Like, we know that, right? We saw him. He did a jailbreak and took 'em?”

“Yeah, well,” Tony winced, and Logan's eyes narrowed at his boss, “...Hydra kind of left a calling card, with that long-range tractor beam. They may not have very much going for 'em, but they have had that thing in the works for years.” Tony shook his head, “I had no idea they'd got it working, though...”

“So what you're sayin' is,” Logan spoke, slowly, keeping his breathing even and measured, but it was so hard in that moment, “A desperate ol' company with a history of insane leadership, what once tried to take over the galaxy, has their very own alien-from-beyond, and might soon have warp, too?” 

“That was always their weak point, in ol' Johann's day,” Tony cracked his neck, “Precious few souls in his employ that a Leviathan would let near 'em, let alone pilot.” Logan rose from his seat, approaching his boss now, expression gone hard.

“I aint never asked if the risks were worth it, boss, and maybe that's my mistake...” He knew it was, of course. To think he, Storm and the rest were invincible, that they'd always succeed in keeping Laura, the ship and any civilians safe through whatever Stark asked of them. They had, yes, until now, “But 'til today, the risks have been things I knew, things I'm ready for. This shit is tech and science beyond us and you coulda warned me...” His fists flexed at his sides, the claws edging out for all he tried to stop them. That touch at his elbow, again, though...Logan shut his eyes, “...Civilian got nicked while still under my protection. AND my kid.” He swallowed, hard, looking Tony in the eye again, “She'll prolly get killed, or worse, just 'cause she was just there at the wrong time...” Tony winced, nodding, covering his face.

“Logan, I...I can't even begin to...”

“I don't think she will be,” Jarvis startled them all by speaking, and Logan looked up sharply, praying the ol' robot had heard from her. His eyes were glazed over with scrolling blue text, as he stared off, unseeing, “I have been monitoring the Cortex and the planet's security waves. In the past three days, young mutants have gone missing all over Gionorma,” Logan felt his hopes lifting again, “Most all from the poorest corners in the biggest cities, until Laura. All level 2 mutants or above, all under eighteen...”

“Aw fuck, we've seen this before,” Tony swore, and Logan was right there with him.

“Poor, so they wouldn't be noticed missin' by anyone but they're families at first, not yet,” He breathed. At his side, Darcy frowned, looking up at him.

“Not-yet-what?” She asked, and Logan smirked, a purpose now growing in his chest, even as dread crept in around the edges. Laura, with all that she was, all that she could be, was definitely alive. But if they didn't get her back soon, hell was waiting for her.

“It's how it started last time,” He murmured, meeting the girl's eye, “It's how Hydra began building their first army.”

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	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have delicious wine.

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_“One can only rally against the methods of the Hydra movement so much. Their goals are sound, we should not be arguing this. They claim to want a galaxy without strict social class, without racism, without class-ism. Their methods, of course, are contradictory and immoral, that is why they will inevitably fail. They treat mutants as tools just as much as we do, for all they might claim otherwise. But their danger is in how true, how right their ideals, however falsified, are. We all want what they claim to want. Do not under-estimate this uprising, good people. Hydra will win over many. Our victory, sadly, may only come after they've proven their true colors. Because they are not wrong...our society, as it is now, is appalling.”_

\- Prof. Charles Xavier, at the first universal summit on Gionorma, during The Great War. 

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He was charged with the listening, and so he listened. He took in every police report, every security wave, staring off into the nothing with a placid look on his face, as folk expected. He was emotionless because he had to be, because to allow himself access to the programs that would allow him to feel...no, Jarvis could not do that, not yet, not when he'd a job to do. She was too dear to him to risk the mistakes that strong emotions caused.

 

And so when Miss Lewis tailed Captain Logan outside of the Stark buildings, when she arm-wrestled her way onto the team of Stark employees investigating the disappearances on Gionorma, Jarvis had remained stoic and clear. When Logan and Darcy had, at last, hurried off into the night, the AI had allowed his alarm to show just a little as time passed, diving into the security waves with a vigor, until her soft, sweet voice broke into his surveillance. 

“Jarvis?” Her voice shattered every other thing, and he sighed, relieved, focusing fully on her signal. 

“I'm here, Laura...”

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Her awareness came back, slowly. She'd blacked out sometime during the beam, and wasn't sure how anyone could not, being shot so far across space. Laura knew that she was far from Gionorma, she had to be, or Jubilee would have found her by now. She couldn't even feel Jubes in her head, and that was a very jarring realization.

Her palms moved over the hard, cool metal floor, eyes adjusting to the bright, florescent light. She was in a small cell, she could see. A small cot took up the cement wall to her right, a sink and toilet the left. A heavy, metal door met her gaze as she looked to the furthest wall, and instinctively she backed up, until her small shoulders were pressed up against the wall between the bed and the bathroom corner, as far from that door as she could get. Her father had taught her as much, to never leave herself open in unfamiliar situations.

Where was this? Laura swallowed, looking around at the ceiling and walls. There was no sound, at least none that was discernible aside from the dull, soulless hum of artificial engines. All else was monotone, grey metal, thin mattress, ugly, cement walls. So different from her colorful home.

Carefully, Laura stood. On the bed was a folded set of clothes, a nondescript pillow and blanket. The cell was even smaller than she'd realized, perhaps only eight feet by eight. Taking a deep breath, she tried to remember the things her father had tried to avoid teaching her, long ago. When puberty had finally hit, and Logan could no longer watch her struggle with her new mutations besides her healing, ones he'd hoped she'd never get, he'd taught her to make friends with the beast in her blood, to respect it, to use it. Laura called on it now, focusing, scenting the air, inspecting her surroundings. There wasn't much to smell, though, besides cold metal and the fresh starch of the clothes and sheets. There was nothing much to hear either, aside from the engines, and ...shuffling, not so far away, that might be other humans in other cells...

She jumped, abruptly, as a loud crackling sounded overhead. After only a brief look around, Laura spotted the aged, brass speaker up on the ceiling, over the bed. 

“Cell 23,” A robotic, detached female voice spoke, as the crackling cleared, “Sensors indicate that you are awake. Please change into the clothing provided. Your personal items will be disposed of in the morning. You have eight hours before breakfast and training. Sleep well.”

More crackling, and then silence. Laura swallowed, as the florescent lights above her dimmed. Training? What was this place? She remained against the wall for a beat longer, wondering what her father would do...well, that was easy. Logan would claw his way out of this place, shred that metal door like tissue paper. She looked down at her own hand, at her own bone claws as they popped out. Her father's claws had adamantium grafted to them. Her's wouldn't do much besides scratch up the door. She shook her head, retracting them. Never mind what Logan -himself- would do, what would he tell -her- to do?

The same thing Jarvis no doubt would. “Keep myself alive,” Laura whispered aloud. She moved, remembering all the things Ororo had once taught her about sweeping a room. Aside from the speaker com and a device by the head of the bed that she recognized as a remote vitals monitor (there were a couple of them back in Jubilee's infirmary), all her carefully sweeping hands found were dusty corners and smooth walls. No cameras or surveillance. “No pervs watching, then.” She breathed a little easier, slowly, regretfully removing her high, pastel stockings, her fine navy romper and her beloved leather jacket. It was her very nicest outfit, and they were taking it away. Ms. Pepper herself had given it to her for her last birthday...

Her birthday!

With a glad cry she just barely managed to stifle, even with the apparent lack of wire tapping, Laura remembered the earrings in her lobes. After she'd dutifully folded her own clothes and stacked them by the door, she quickly pulled off the sapphire studs and shoved them under the pillow. She pulled on the plain, stretchy light-grey jumpsuit and socks, hands shaking a little with relieved excitement. She hoped her sweep of the room had been thorough enough.

The impending loss of her clothes seemed like nothing, now, as Laura crawled under the thick, if overly-starched sheet and blanket. She waited for a minute, counting to sixty under her breath, but the very dim light did not go out completely. This seemed like a final indication that she truly was not being monitored beyond her vitals, and she relaxed further, reaching under her pillow and twisting the gem in the right earring.

“Jarvis?”

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“Miles...” Darcy swallowed hard, as she read the last name on the tablet Tony Stark had loaned her. She and Logan were standing in the shelter of an awning on the rough side of Manifold, the borough she'd grown up in. They'd just gone through a wrenching interview with another mutant's mother, in a tiny, three-room worker apartment, in a neighborhood hundreds of stories high. It was a rough place, even without the rain pelting the platform they were on. But, she knew, despite a gap of years she couldn't count, Darcy and Logan were both very familiar with Manifold and it's roughness, sadness, it's over-crowded buildings and rainy nights. They were nothing but an old friend, as they struggled.

“You know 'im?” Logan asked, through the thick cloud of cigar smoke that surrounded him. Darcy nodded, reaching up and pushing a hand up through her hair. Cussing softly into the damp night.

“For how many bodies that can be crammed into one borough? It's still a small planet. So yeah, I do,” She reached up, rubbing her eyes, trying to hide how her hands were shaking, “His mom, Rio, she was my babysitter every day after school. Mom worked such long hours down here...Rio was pregnant with Miles, when I was five. By twelve, I was the one babysitting him.”

“And he's over level 2?” Logan prompted, his voice somewhat softer now. Darcy nodded again, willing herself not to freak out. But...Laura AND Miles? The universe was being a right and proper dick to her, she was sure of it. 

“Yeah, 'round ten years old he started...well, climbing the walls to get away from me, literally,” She grinned, faintly, looking to the thick cigar in his hand, licking her lips, her hands visibly twitching now that she was out of places to busy them, “...Don't suppose I could...?” She started, but Logan just shrugged, handing it over.

“S'not like they go fast, girl,” He watched her, as she took a few puffs. It wasn't the immediate calm of a cigarette, no, but Darcy appreciated it no less, letting out a deep sigh. She only felt the need to smoke when she was stressed,m usually...so, this was basically the definition, “So, at this point, d'we even need to question his folks?” Logan was asking, his own nerves apparent in his tone, “I mean...fits the profile of all t'other kids whose folks we've talked at, yeah?”

Darcy had to nod at that. “Well yeah, I've got no doubt. Miles is a good kid, takes care of his mom, ever since his dad died. Uh, he was a captain for Shield Corps, died on the job,” She explained, and saw Logan wince, and make a small cross on his right palm with his left forefinger. A salute to a fallen fellow space pilot. “So no, Miles wouldn't bail on Rio. If he's missing, he's been kidnapped too,” She sighed, looking up into the dark cloud cover, “...I should still go see her. Tell her that people are on it, that Stark Corps is investigating...”

“Right, s'true...” Logan took back his cigar when she offered it, watching her, tilting his head. Darcy tucked her hair behind her ears, shifting under his gaze until he looked away again, off into the noisy night, “He's our last stop, anyway, can go with ya fer one more,” He smirked, “Yer really, very...”

Darcy didn't get to find out what she was, though, not then, anyway. Logan's com started buzzing at his hip, and with a frantic motion he flipped the ornate device open, his usually steady, pointed voice wavering only slightly.

“Jarvis, tell me you've heard something?”

“I have,” The AI's smooth voice reached Darcy's ears, and she found herself rising up onto her toes, anticipating, “Laura's alive, she's whole, and I am quite sure that, starting tomorrow, they will begin making a soldier out of her.”

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End file.
